Incorrect login detailsYour account is permanently bannedYour account has been placed under a protective block for security reasons. Please contact support.Your account has been deletedYou have reached the limit of authorised attemptsYour account name has been blacklistedThis Ankama account is protected by the Authenticator.

Azael tells you about GvG
Today we offer you a Q&A sessions with Azael, to talk in details about the GvG feature, coming in the next update. Clarifications, Information and even spoilers are on the menu!

First let us clarify one thing, although we announced that this feature would be released with this update, we finally decided to postpone it to the next one.

Can you tell us why?

We wanted to give more time to guilds to get used to the new system, with the revamp implemented this month, and work a bit more on the GvG rules. This should also give us more time to talk to the community and make sure we match their expectations.

So, how does GvG work in WAKFU?

As we explained already, it’ll be based on Prims (yes Prims, not Prisms). These Prims are like big crystals that will be placed everywhere in the world, one in each region to be precise. Any region with a Clan Member will have a Prims. And we will also place one in each Haven World. The idea is that a guild will be able to take control of a Prims by attacking it, for a kama cost. If the attackers win the fight, they take control of the Prims. The more Prims you have, the more bonuses!

But they don’t get the Kamas back?

No, they don’t get them back. Kamas are destroyed no matter if you win or lose the fight.

What do we gain by taking a Prims?

First you will get bonuses, that are still under balancing right now. They will mostly be PvP orientated. There is currently a limit of 3 Prims that can give you bonuses. A guild can control more, but they will only stack the bonuses from 3 Prims.

There will also be PvE bonuses in the region of the Prims. For example in the Thicket of Yurbut, the whole guild will have a bonus there in PvE.

How does the Ladder work?

There will actually be two ladders, PvE and PvP. They will work similarly: when you accomplish specific actions, you gain ranking points. It’ll be pyramidal. It’s like if you had 10 grades, the higher the grade the less guilds you’ll find. The ladder will update every week, and your grade will be decided based on the points you won, but you should note that each guild will also lose points every week. This mechanic should limit the amount of inactive guilds with high grades.

Is there a mechanic allowing us to show off a bit? Can we show that we control a region?

Absolutely. It’s a PvP system, so you should be able to brag! With the grades, we’re trying to implement a visual effect based on the grade you have. It will also unlock PvP rewards, like real PvP oriented gear. We’re talking about real sets here, with stats, but usable only in PvP, be it GvG or aggressions.

So you gain points by starting aggressions?

No, you will only gain points in GvG, so by attacking Prims. This decision was made because we don’t want to encourage aggressions. Note however that you’ll gain points when attacking but also defending a Prims.

So you gain conquest points, and then you can spend them in machines like a currency?

Well, you won’t spend the points! The points you gain are only for your ranking. It will unlock content directly. There will indeed be machines where you can buy items, that will unlock based on your grade, but they will very likely cost Kamas.

Can guilds ally with each other? Or is it free for all?

We received many requests for an alliance feature, and we always wanted to implement it, although it could take some time to implement. I’ll give you some hints though, for the long run. We would like guilds to be able to ally with Nations. The details have yet to be designed, but you could decide to fight for Brakmar, or any other Nation. In the end we’d like to reach a real conquest system, since the existing conquest feature will be revamped at the end of the year, and will use the Prims system.

Guilds alliances should arrive at the end of the year as well. You would be able to ally with another guild and attack or defend Prims together.

So there won’t be any alliances before the end of the year?

Indeed, not before. We designed the GvG system with this idea in mind, and we will add it when we revamp the conquest system, at the end of the year. The current conquest system has a main issue: if we don’t implement conquest islands, it’s because we need to create a Clan Member, so a boss that can be fought. In terms of development, it’s as much work as a Ultimate Boss. So either we implement a conquest island, either a UB. We want to find a lighter system, which would allow us to implement much more. That’s why we went for the Prims system, and will make each island conquerable; even the adventure islands such as Sadida Kingdom or even Frigost.

However, you won’t have to belong to a Nation to conquer. In the end you could have Bonta and Brakmar fighting for a region and an independent guild take it under their nose and take the bonus for themselves.

So you can have an Outlaw or Anarchist guild that will mess with Nations?

Absolutely! Basically we like the idea that if you have a big alliance between guilds, it’s almost like a new Nation. I talked about bonuses with the Prims, but the conquest system will stay similar to what it is currently. You will conquer an island and receive a bonus in the theme of the island.

How does a Prims attack work? How much does it cost?

How much? No final decision was made yet. We will inform the players as soon as possible to get their feedback. It’s something sensible to balance, since all guilds have varying wealth. The goal of GvG is to allow small guilds to participate.

So we won’t implement too high costs. There is also the fact that we have several servers, all with their own economy. The only thing that is sure yet, is that the attackers will have to pay, and each group member will have to pay to participate in the fight.

You should know also that it’ll be 6 vs 6. We preferred to stay at this scale for now, since it’s the one we handle best.

How does it work if you’re the only member of your guild online when your Prims is attacked?

That’s where a new mechanic kicks in, that we call protectors, or guardians. There will always be 6 defenders on a Prims. If no player is available, NPCs will spawn to defend the Prims. Our goal is of course not to make them stronger than players, but we also want to make sure that it’s not too easy to capture a Prims at night. If you attack with only 2 players, you probably won’t make it, but if you attack with a full team with PvP gear, you shouldn’t have much trouble defeating these NPCs.

So it’s like fighting a group of lvl 200 monsters?

Indeed! It’s only to avoid single aggressions. If a guild wants to take control of a Prims, it’ll have to be an organized attack.

Then there’s also the case where you’ll have only 2 defenders. 4 monsters will spawn to join the 2 players. The first player to join the fight will be named Leader. This Leader will have two powers: the first one allows him to pass on his title, and the second allows him to manage his team. He will be able to decide which players join, and chose the NPCs that will help in the fight (if necessary). There’ll be healers, damage dealers, etc. like in a normal group. Also, the Leader will control the NPCs during the fight. They will only use their AI if there is no player in the fight.

But only the member of your guild can participate in the fight, right?

Yes. We may change this when we have alliances, but for now only guild members can attack or defend together. When a fight begins, you will have a timer (for the moment we went for 1 and a half minute) to let you organize your teams. At the end of this timer, the combat begins. If there’s only one attacker, he will stay alone. And as soon as an attack begins, the Prims is locked for the members of the attacking guild.

So what happens if you’re on the other side of the world when an attack begins?

The attackers will have to go there on their own. If they want to attack, they better organize… Defenders will get an automatic teleport from almost anywhere in the world, except the respec instance, haven bags… Basically any area that does not allow teleportation.

Another thing about the defender NPCs: can we unlock new ones?

There will be a basic pack, from which you can chose. The first ones you’ll get will be a normally balanced group, with healers, support, damage dealer and tanks. They will have only a few spells however, and won’t be that strong. But you can unlock new ones. For now we want to offer two options: with guild bonuses that can be bought with guild points, and with a specific building that can be built in your Haven World.

But this won’t be available in this update?

No, it’ll be added in July with the GvG.

So these mobs will be level 200? Since GvG fight you automatically level you up to 200.

The idea is to let everyone participate in PvP. Since spells will level up to 200, we can also level characters to 200 automatically. Concretely: Your HP will increase (5 per level), and your spells will level up with the same ratio as you currently have, but as if your character was 200. So if you have a spell level 100 and another level 80, they’ll be 200 and 160.

Won’t that affect the strategies of players?

They might need to rebuild their characters a little for GvG. We will test it, and see how it goes. The last things that we can’t level up automatically are the ability points, since these are direct players decisions. But that’ll also give you a reason to keep leveling up normally!

Same with the equipment, a higher level player will always have an advantage?

Well there are two things to keep in mind. First, a player invested in PvP will have PvP equipment that can be used with a level 1 character, so without any level limitation. The only limitation will be the grade. Their stats will be quite interesting, and a player who doesn’t like PvE will be able to play and equip himself mostly only in PvP, except when it comes to leveling his character. I just want to remind you however that this equipment will not work in PvE, so you won’t be able to farm PvP to get your stuff and use it against a UB.

Is there a limitation regarding Prims control?

Right now, no. We assume that a Guild will have to defend its Prims and the more it has, the harder it is to defend.

However there are many points we’d like to discuss with the community, such as the possibility to lock a Prims. If I attack a Prims then it will be locked for some time during which nobody will be able to attack it (right now we’re thinking about one hour). It might be a bit short, but we also want to keep a very dynamic system. This can still change and we will talk about it with the community to see what the expectations are. We want something solid for the end of the year.

Can you tell us more about the Structure system?

Yes, each Prims has 20 Structure points that work a bit like HP. They have several purposes. First, controlling a Prims shouldn’t be free, and these Structure points should limit the amount of Prims a guild can control. Without giving precise numbers, a Prims will automatically lose 1 Structure Points every X hours or X days. When it reaches 0, it becomes neutral and cannot be attacked for 3 days. After these 3 days, anyone can attack it and it comes back with only 5 Structure Points. Guilds will have to pay Kamas to give back SP to their Prims. This should create a link between GvG and PvE.

There is something else that you should know: we want to limit the amount of turns a Prims fight can last. Right now, we’re thinking about 10 turns. If the attackers didn’t defeat all defenders after these 10 turns, we consider the defenders as winners. However, to prevent strategies that could be “too” defensive, we also implemented the following: The Prims will lose Structure Points during the fight. So the defending guild could lose its Prims even if they win the fight, if this one lasted for too long.

This should help prevent passive defenses and tactics that could be considered as negative?

Exactly. We don’t want to encourage non-fair play tactics. There will be other mechanics implemented to limit abuses, such as a limit in the amount of turns a Sram can stay invisible in GvG.

I want to specify something else about Structure Points: If the attackers win the fight, the Prims doesn’t lose SP. It’ll come back directly to the amount it had before the fight. You will of course still have to choose your targets wisely, since attacking a Prims with only 1 SP might not be such a good decision.

So it could also be a tactic to keep your Prims at only 1 or 2 SPs, although it’s not without risks?

It’s risky, since it means that you’ll need very aggressive defenses. Our goal is to add strategy not only to the fight itself, but the way you approach it, and the Prims you choose to attack. You should also know that Prims will become some kind of Zaaps, and you will be able to teleport directly to a Prims.

For free?

We’re not decided yet.

With Haven Worlds, Guild revamp, PvP, GvG, what happens to those who don’t have guilds?

We wanted to have this “community pack”, since we’re still talking about a MMO here. WAKFU has many community features, such as politics (that will also be revamped at the end of the year). We have to make sure that these features are solid enough to allow other revamps (like conquests). Maybe those who don’t have a guild will even find more incentive in joining one now. Even a small guild will already be able to participate in GvG. After all, you only need to be 6 to attack a Prims.

We really want to encourage players to group up in guilds. I know that many players complain about things like crafting, especially because it’s very much a solo feature, but it’s one of the things that are being reviewed. A note about crafting for handymen: we want to implement deployable structures, like canons, war machines, etc. that will be crafted by handymen. They will have a significant use in Dungeons built in your Haven Worlds, and in conquest!

You talked about a politics revamp for the end of the year, will the guild system be linked to it?

Absolutely. At first we were only supposed to develop Haven Worlds and GvG. But since these two features impacted guilds, we decided to revamp the guilds to improve the system. In the long run we’d like to give more powers to governments, for example when an island like Frigost is implemented, it wouldn’t be accessible directly. Governments would have to build boats to bring their citizens there. They wouldn’t do it alone of course, but trigger special guild quests or “contracts” for their allied guilds.

There is also something about the members of a guild. If a player decides to leave his guild, he will lose 50% of his PvP and PvE points, but all his points will be removed from the Guild total. So a player will have a big impact on his guild, and guilds will have a big impact on the game.

So the player can also boost the new guild he will join?

Exactly. Recruitments will have to be handled carefully, since you don’t want to recruit someone who’ll benefit from your guild and then leave you.

We noticed that the politic feature didn’t really motivate the players, so instead of asking the players to singularly contribute to the political life of their nation, we will ask guilds to do it. A governor will have to rely on the guilds of his Nation to improve it, be it in conquest or content.

So we should expect blood, tears and treason?

We surely hope so! Guilds will be able to ally, or not, to Nations. Many players will want to have their own islands, but you should note that we still want to give specific bonuses and quests to the guilds allied to a Nation.

To summarize, what exactly will we have in the June update in regards to GvG?

Only the Prims in all regions and in the Haven Worlds, but they won’t be activated. There will also be a notion of Conquest Points in several interfaces, but also not active yet.

So mostly “greyed out” content until July. And what exactly should we expect for July?

The whole GvG feature: the ladder, Prims and Haven Worlds that can be attacked, all PvP rules such as the automatic level up, and also the fact that you will no longer see your opponent’s position during the placement phase. You will now have to use strategy when choosing your position, and no longer spam positions until the fight begins (only in PvP. The PvE system stays the same as usual). And you will also be able to change your equipment during the placement phase in both PvP and PvE.

We will also implement new buildings for your Haven Worlds with each patch. For July it’ll be a PvP building.

And so, Politics and alliances with Nations will come later?

End of the year. We want a solid but open basis, and take the players feedback into account, which is what I’m trying to do on the forums. We already changed many things by just listening to them, and we want to keep it that way. So we want to have a few months before implementing the conquest system and politic revamp in order to work with the community and improve the other feature as much as possible.http://www.wakfu.com/en/mmorpg/community/blog/posts/339441-azael-tells-you-gvg

"However there are many points we’d like to discuss with the community, such as the possibility to lock a Prims. If I attack a Prims then it will be locked for some time during which nobody will be able to attack it (right now we’re thinking about one hour). It might be a bit short, but we also want to keep a very dynamic system. This can still change and we will talk about it with the community to see what the expectations are. We want something solid for the end of the year."

This will probably be abused by having an alt 2nd or 3rd or 4th or 5th or 6th account attack prims to keep it locked to keep others from attacking it. Putting a lock would be a very bad idea imo. And this will let guilds hold on to multiple prims WHILE defending others.

This will probably be abused by having an alt 2nd or 3rd or 4th or 5th or 6th account attack prims to keep it locked to keep others from attacking it. Putting a lock would be a very bad idea imo. And this will let guilds hold on to multiple prims WHILE defending others.

Why you not just kill the alt(s) creating the fake attacks? (with your whole team)

This will probably be abused by having an alt 2nd or 3rd or 4th or 5th or 6th account attack prims to keep it locked to keep others from attacking it. Putting a lock would be a very bad idea imo. And this will let guilds hold on to multiple prims WHILE defending others.

Why you not just kill the alt(s) creating the fake attacks? (with your whole team)

just by attacking a prim it will lock it for a certain period of time hence an hour ( he mentions that an hour is the shorter version amount of time they plan on implementing.) so killing them will still trigger the lock. I'm just saying its a bad idea imo to put any type of timer lock on it.

edit: Its not about the attack its really about the lock. people will be able to lock thier prims from being attacked for the next hour or continuously by using their own alt toons (fake attacks).

This will probably be abused by having an alt 2nd or 3rd or 4th or 5th or 6th account attack prims to keep it locked to keep others from attacking it. Putting a lock would be a very bad idea imo. And this will let guilds hold on to multiple prims WHILE defending others.

Why you not just kill the alt(s) creating the fake attacks? (with your whole team)

just by attacking a prim it will lock it for a certain period of time hence an hour ( he mentions that an hour is the shorter version amount of time they plan on implementing.) so killing them will still trigger the lock. I'm just saying its a bad idea imo to put any type of timer lock on it.

edit: Its not about the attack its really about the lock. people will be able to lock thier prims from being attacked for the next hour or continuously by using their own alt toons (fake attacks).

He's saying you kill the alts BEFORE they "fake attack" the prims. How would killing them trigger the lock? If it's locked for an hour it locks the alts out too, they can't refresh it until the hour runs out, where, if you really want to take it, you can be waiting and either start the fight first, or kill the alts. Assuming it gives you a time when the lock is off it wouldn't be that hard to block them. Not to mention they're paying the attack fee every hour to keep it locked which I imagine would add up fairly quickly. I'd say the hour lock restricts rich guilds more than it enables them as they can't just drop a bunch of money to pound a small guild over and over again.

I see it now. just like when a party member starts a fight and you are quickly typing some text - you hit enter and then notice the pop up for the fight cut off your response half way and you joined accidentally.

it'll be like that except it also teleports you across the world, and rips you out of your pre UB-fight set up or something.

Some of this looks really interesting. Structures contracted by government and built up from guild quests, siege gear etc etc. I really hope this turns out. Right now the world is kind of just a big map. We can move flora and fauna around but that's about it.

Making it all more dynamic sounds like a huge step in the right direction.

I see a big problem when it comes to protect a Prim of your guild and you are in the middle of a fight or dungeon. Will you be able to skip the battle and recall out of the dungeon?You will waste Dungeon keys and all your progress in the dungeon.

A solution could be to give players the option to teleport back to their original location after the fight.

But there is another problem that isn't that easy to solve: If you are in a group (fight) with people from different guilds and in the middle of a fight, the Prim of the group members of one of the participating guild is attacked, what happens to the rest of the party? They then have to wait 10 minutes and in the worst case, if the allies return another Prim might be attacked.

I think its a great feature with many good ideas but it's not like people always are in the situation the cancel everything they are doing to teleport to their Prim. But they will regret it not to do so because they otherwise lose boosts.

I mean sure, if you decide not to teleport to the Prim your guild can still take it back one hour later, but you will then have to spent Kamas and don't have the bonus during that hour (too bad you were standing in front of a dungeon boss to get that rare gear, when they attacked your PP-bonus-Prim). A big guild will have the advantage that there will be enough people to defend the Prim, even without the group in the dungeon. Except it is in the middle of the night.

Ehm, nevertheless, great work. Would be happy if my fears prove wrong.

It's a lot of information at once. For some players it may seem complicated and vague. But I really hope all those new systems haven-worlds, gvg, prims, etc. will be clear and understandable for an average player when they are finally implemented.

Also, I agree that making a "1h lock" after attacking a Prim is not the best idea. A guild can just attack the Prim with their alts from a different guild, and intentionally lose to lock the Prim for 1h. They could this over and over again so no one conquers the Prim.

The only "lock system" that is viable is the one where the attacking guild can't attack the Prim again for a certain period of time.

I would make it at least 24h ~ 72h. This will encourage all guilds to organize and think before leading an attack.

And there will be so many Prims that every guild will be able to participate in GvG everyday, no matter the lock time on certain Prims.

This post has been edited by Butterflyx - December 09, 2016, 16:26:53.

Instead of automatically teleporting us to the prim, i think there should appear button that we have to press if we want to be teleported to prim and defends it. However it should be possible to ignore the button without pressing it and continue your work for example: your harvesting or shopping.

As for choosing NPC's - how much time we will have to choose them?

And instead of limiting sram's invisibility in GvG you should rather revamp Sram with new invisibility mechanic.

And overall i like it but classes are still not balanced and Sadida is still underpowered so i think it won't be quite fair to make pvp system applied before classes revamps.

Also if you will make spells with doubled levels then you will make people deal 2x more damage then they normally do, while some classes are already able to kill someone in pvp within 3 turns, therefore with only +5HP per level you will make damage dealer classes kill member of enemy team within 1 or 2 turns. I am just afraid there won't be balance and again you are promoting brainless dmg dealing over tactical victories. I know you love iop's but come on!

Why not adding a "Dressing room" in haven-world "Guild Hall". It would be an instance accessible by clicking on "Guild Hall" doors. Inside every guild member will be brought to level 200 and will be able to redistribute spells xp and ability points for future PvP. After leaving the instance he will be back to his normal level, but every time this player is aggroed or participate in GvG he will have the character build he made in "Guild hall's dressing room".

So it's like every player would have 2 builds. Regular one, like it's now, for PvE; and the second one made in "Dressing Room" for all PvP/GvG/PK fights.
That would be an amazing solution, everyone would be equally good during PvP/PK/GvG

Also, I agree; 1st Revamp remaining classes and then tweak all the classes for as much balance as possible, then implement GvG.

This post has been edited by Butterflyx - December 09, 2016, 16:26:53.

Why not adding a "Dressing room" in haven-world "Guild Hall". It would be an instance accessible by clicking on "Guild Hall" doors. Inside every guild member will be brought to level 200 and will be able to redistribute spells xp and ability points for future PvP. After leaving the instance he will be back to his normal level, but every time this player is aggroed or participate in GvG he will have the character build he made in "Guild hall's dressing room".

So it's like every player would have 2 builds. Regular one, like it's now, for PvE; and the second one made in "Dressing Room" for all PvP/GvG/PK fights.
That would be an amazing solution, everyone would be equally good during PvP/PK/GvG

Also, I agree; 1st Revamp remaining classes and then tweak all the classes for as much balance as possible, then implement GvG.

100% agree with this, this will overcome any non-combat gear such as mining gear, special UB gear, etc. Great suggestion, even though you did randomly jump me and my sac the other day